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portion of all profit from Changing Course goes to support Trickle Up,
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The Changing Course Newsletter
Issue 108 January 13th, 2005
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The free newsletter from http://www.ChangingCourse.com
Dedicated to helping you:
~ Live Life on Purpose
~ Work at What You Love
~ Follow Your Own Road
OUTLOOK 2003 USERS: For the best formatting, right click in the gray area
above the “From” line that reads “Extra line breaks” and then select
“Restore line breaks.”
In This Issue:
1. Featured Article: Learning the Ropes: How to Train for That New
Career or to Start Your Own Business
2. Teleclass: How to Attract Your Ideal Career or Build a Business You
Love
3. Featured Resource: Career Counseling for People Who Want to Make a
Living Without a Job
4. Guest Article: Top Ten Misconceptions About Running Your Own Home
Referral Network Business
5. Meet a Fellow Dreamer: Want to Start a Conference Center and Animal
Sanctuary in South Africa?
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TODAY’S WISE WORDS
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You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what
you're doing is work or play.
~ Warren Beatty
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1. Featured Article
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Learning the Ropes: How to Train for That New Career or to Start Your Own
Business
By Valerie Young
My daily newspaper recently ran a piece about the 20 children’s books that
were published by local writers and illustrators in this past year. Three
were first-time authors.
To me that begs the question, how do you train for a career as a children’s
book writer – or for any new career for that matter? If you’ve wondered
where to turn to acquire the knowledge and skills you need to follow your
bliss, here are some places to start as well as the pros and cons of each:
1) Read a Book
For the aspiring children’s book writer there are literally dozens of how to
books to choose from. In fact, there’s a book out there on how to start just
about any career or business imaginable. A quick search at Amazon using just
the words “How to start” yielded titles like How to Start a Magazine, How to
Start a Bar or Tavern, How to Start a Home Based Landscaping Business – even
How to Start Your Own Country apparently for the person who’s always wanted
to run their own country but didn’t know where to start.
There’s also a whole slew of eBooks that you can download instantly into
your computer to read or print out at your leisure. The benefit of an eBook
is that unlike a traditional book that was written well over a year before
publication, the information is more current.
I’ve found three sites that offer an interesting selection of “how to”
eBooks on a range of businesses:
At My Mommy Biz you can learn how to start your own business running an
errand service for seniors, baking dog treats or pet sitting, selling gift
baskets, putting on tea party for girls, consulting to brides, renting
bridal gowns, selling vintage clothing or reading tarot cards – just to name
a few!
In addition to more tradition businesses like dog trainer, event planner and
communications consultant,
Dream Jobs to
Go features eBooks on such off beat career options as how to become a
hypnotherapist, karaoke host, boat bum, river guide, and stand up comic.
Fab Job has some equally unique titles including how to become a pop
star, etiquette or image consultant, video game designer, second hand store
owner, even an Olympic athlete!
Although books and eBooks are a low cost way to learn about a new career, if
you decide to learn your craft from a book you’ll need to be very
self-directed to put the advice into action. If you’re the type who orders
lots of how-to books only to let them languish on your shelf, it may be time
to try another strategy.
2) Take a Class
There’s nothing like learning from a live expert. If you’re creative, and
would love to ultimately earn money from your art or craft, look around for
courses sponsored by local arts guilds and other artistic organizations. In
my area you can take painting, drawing and photography courses at the
Guild Studio
School. In addition to their longer summer intensives,
Snow’s Farm offers weekly classes in
glassblowing, pottery, weaving, and other fine crafts.
Adult education programs are also a great place to look for “how to”
courses. A quick search of the offerings at a few of the colleges in my area
include evening or weekend sessions on starting a catering business,
ventriloquism for fun and profit, setting up an import/export business, and
how to make money selling on eBay. These kinds of classes are typically only
a few hours long. You’ll probably get a good overview, but in most cases
you’ll probably need to seek out additional information or training.
3) Go to School
There are relatively few businesses that require you to actually go to
college. And if you’re a self-starter and aren’t in a rush to launch your
new career, you can always learn on your own. However, if you want to really
train in a new career, you may want to consider attending some kind of
lengthier training program.
Again a quick search in my own area turned up several interesting training
programs that train you for a whole new career in under a year. The
internationally known Hallmark
Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, offers a ten
month program for the serious “photo bug.” And at the
New England School of
Architectural Woodworking in Easthampton you learn to be a fine
craftsman or woman in 37 weeks.
4) Go to “Bootcamp”
If you’ve made up your mind this is the year you’re going to take the leap,
or if the kind of work you want to do requires more advanced knowledge and
skills, but you don’t have months to spend in school, you may want to
consider a more intensive short-term training program.
The “bootcamp” approach tends to focus heavily on skill development with
lots of time built in for practice. For example, despite having been done
public speaking for over a decade, Communispond’s two-day presentation
skills with their heavy emphasis on before and after taping, helped me
improve my skills ten-fold.
Voiceover work is another good example of where a book, while a providing
some good tips, can’t really give you that hands-on training you need to
really make the leap. In case you’re not familiar with this well-paying
field, voiceover artists as they’re known, get paid to use their voice on TV
and radio commercials, narrations, cartoons, and corporate audio-visual.
(When I was in corporate marketing we hired voiceover artists to narrate our
stuff all the time).
If people are forever complimenting you on your voice, check out former
radio personality and voiceover expert Susan Berkeley’s three-day “Voiceover
Bootcamp” being held this February in West Palm Beach, Florida. In
addition to being one of the voices that says, “Thank you for using AT&T”
Susan has been featured in The New York Times, The LA Times, Business Week,
and on CNBC.
There are a number of things that impress me about Susan’s course. For one,
having experienced first hand the benefits of live practice and on the spot
feedback, I like the fact that the course is held in an actual studio and is
being limited to only 25 students to ensure lots of individual coaching.
Then there’s the emphasis on technique. This is where, as Susan puts it,
you’ll learn to unlock the hidden power of your voice and get tips for
mastering pitch, tone, inflection, tempo, rhythm and vocal placement.
Finally, being an entrepreneur herself, Susan puts a lot of emphasis on
helping students actually launch their own careers. She even provides a copy
of the marketing plan she herself used to get where she is today.
Naturally this kind of training is going to be more expensive than a
$12 book or a $59 continuing ed course. But if you’re serious about changing
course, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and attend an intensive
“bootcamp-style” training.
5) Apprentice with an Expert
Before he was forced to close his bookbinding business for health reasons,
70-something Bill Streeter used to take on apprentices. Each three month
session was limited to one apprentice ensuring lots of individual attention.
The training was full-time and cost a very reasonable $3000. Not only did
the apprentice learn a new trade, but Bill had wisely created a $12,000 a
year income stream for himself.
Looking ahead, depending on what career path you choose, you too may be
able to eventually train others and generate additional income in the
process.
Going back to our children’s book author example, consider contacting a
local writer to see if he or she would be willing to take on a student.
Since this may be a new concept for them, you’ll probably want to come
prepared to recommend a format and what you’d be willing to pay for
individual tutoring.
6) Take a Self-Study Course
Depending on the career you choose, you may be able to take a more
comprehensive self-study course. For example
Equissage, which
holds classes in equine massage training at their facility in Round Hill,
Virginia also began offering a self-study course in canine massage therapy
in 2000. The cost of the program is $495.
If you enjoy helping people and like the idea of a portable career that you
can do from home, you might want to consider training to become a personal,
business, or executive coach. There’s a number of coaching certification
programs to choose at a wide range of price points. Those associated with a
college offer live on-site classes but most rely on Teleclasses and written
materials. For a general overview of the coaching field I suggest you check
out
Coachville.com
If you want to write children’s books, the best self-study program I’ve
found is the Institute of Children’s Literature’s “Writing for Children and
Teenagers.” The Institute is located in West Redding, Connecticut and has an
impressive track record of helping writers get published for over 36 years.
I’ve personally reviewed the course materials and couldn’t have been more
impressed. To help with both motivation and ensure you’re education is on
track, students are matched with a published author who’ll review each
assignment and help propel you to success. The course is affordable, you can
take it at your own pace, and many students sell articles before even
finishing the course.
If you have a passion for young people, and would love to make money writing
for children or teenagers, I can’t say enough about this program. Read my
complete review at http://www.ChangingCourse.com/children.htm
The American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI) offers a number of
self-study programs for writers including freelance copywriting, travel
writing, writing romance books, and writing fundraising letters. (On a
personal note, as a business owner myself, I’ll only hire copywriters who
have completed this particular copywriting program.) To read my complete
review or listen to audio interviews with the folks at the AWAI and with
program graduates go to http://www.ChangingCourse.com/awai.htm
7) Get a “Business-in-a-Box”
If you don’t have the time, energy, money, or patience to re-invent the
wheel, you might want to consider purchasing buying someone else’s business
model and expertise in the form of a Business-in-a-Box (BIB).
A BIB differs from a franchise in several important ways. One big one is
cost. Where your typical franchise will set you back anywhere from
$20,000-$250,000, typically a BIB runs well under $5,000. Also, franchisers
require you follow their business model and materials to the letter which of
course is why you’ll never see Steve’s Subway and Soft Serve Ice cream Shop
or a Sue’s Super McDonald’s.
BIBs differ in contents but the general idea is that a successful business
owner has taken what they’ve learned and packaged it up in such a way that
someone else could easily replicate their business.
Some consist of materials only and don’t require additional kinds of
training.
A good example of this kind of BIB is the Lazy Writer’s Quick and Easy Money
Program, designed to help you set up and run your own at-home business
writing resumes.
The package includes a CD with 100 sample resumes, a list of thousands of
action words to choose from, 100 sample cover letters and hundreds of
paragraphs to choose from. You also get five manuals showing you
step-by-step how to start, market, and succeed in this profitable business
including how to advertise to millions on the web. This kind of BIB will run
you under $200. http://www.MyResumeBiz.com/opportunity1/
A very different BIB model is Deb Cohen’s Home Referral Network (see this
week’s guest article). Nine years ago, Deb left a career in Corporate
America to stay at home and raise a family. Like most great business ideas,
Deb’s began with a problem – how to find a reputable home contractor. If she
was having difficulty, there was a good chance other home owners were too.
And that’s how Deb’s contractor referral business was born.
Since then her Home Referral Network has grown from a cottage industry to
more than 300 Referral Networks operating around the world. (It doesn’t hurt
that Deb and her business idea have been featured on CNN, Lifetime and on
the American Baby Show and in magazines like: Parents, Working Woman,
Entrepreneur and The New York Times.)
The HRN business can be operated on a part-time or full-time basis and Deb
has put together several different levels of BIB packages at varying price
points. The simplest, and therefore least expensive, option comes with the
Complete Guide to Owning and Operating a Successful Homeowner Referral
Network©, a starter-kit of business forms, and unlimited leads. A more
comprehensive option includes these items plus one-to-one training from Deb,
a web package, and other essentials to jump starting a business faster. (You
can read my complete review of Deb’s business at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/hrn.htm)
There are many ways to learn how to turn your passion into income. The first
step is to get out there and explore what’s available. Then it’s a matter of
picking the learning option or training program that fits your time, budget,
and needs. As always, the key is to take action!
p.s. Still don’t know what you want to be “when you grow up”? You can learn
more about how to discover your true calling at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/careeradvice.htm
Off the beaten path career counselor, Valerie Young, abandoned her corporate
cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com,
offering free resources to help you discover your life mission and live it.
An expert on the Imposter Syndrome, she’s presented her How to Feel as
Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are program to over 30,000
people. Find more articles written by Valerie at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/articles/
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2. Changing Course Teleclass
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NEW! The Science of Law of Attraction: How to Attract Your Ideal Career or
Build a Business You Love Teleclass with best selling author, Michael J
Losier
During this 60-minute, high-content, high-participation teleclass, Michael
will give you the tools and strategies necessary so you can start using Law
of Attraction more deliberately.
You are already experience Law of Attraction. When you use expressions
like: coincidence, serendipity, fate, karma, out-of-the blue and
synchronicity, you are explaining evidence of Law of Attraction.
Join this lively, educational and for some, life-changing teleclass and
learn how you can tap into the power of Law of Attraction.
Michael's book, Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What
You Want and Less of What You Don't became a National Canadian Bestseller –
without spending any money on marketing or promotions – now that's Law of
Attraction at work. Learn more about Michael’s book at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/bookstore.htm
Wednesday, January 26th from 9:00-10:00 p.m. EST Course Fee: $29 Space is
limited. Register today at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/courses.htm
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3. Featured Resource
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Still Don’t Know What You Want to Be When You Grow Up? Personalized,
Affordable, and Practical Career Advice on How to Make A Living Doing What
You Love... Without a Job
Say goodbye to that miserable commute... the office politics... that
impossible boss. Why? Because you don’t need a job to make a living –
really, your options are endless.
In just one telephone appointment Changing Course’s Dreamer in Residence,
Valerie Young, can help you figure out what kinds of things really excite
you... and then show you how you can earn a living doing the very things you
most love.
Whether you know what you love to do or are still in the exploration stage,
Valerie is an expert at helping you identify your dream lifestyle and coming
up with a plan to turn your passions into viable streams of income. But
that’s not all. With over a dozen years of marketing experience behind her,
Valerie can show you creative – and low cost – ways to promote your business
idea.
As a satisfied Robert Pulley in Tennessee put it: “Within 90 minutes, we had
cut through the fluff, targeted potential career opportunities that fit my
passion, identified resources, and established some time-sensitive goals.
What a value for 90 short minutes!”
To learn more about the magic of multiple income streams and how you can
jumpstart your new life with a personalized career consultation with Valerie
visit http://www.ChangingCourse.com/careeradvice.htm
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INSPIRATION TO FOLLOW YOUR BLISS
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Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take many small steps. ~ Helmut
Schmidt
Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than
you think. ~ Benjamin Disraeli
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple,
awesomely simple, that’s creative.
~ Charles Mingus
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4. GUEST ARTICLE
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Top Ten Misconceptions About Running Your Own Home Referral Network Business
By Debra Cohen
Myth 1: Contractors are too busy already and don’t want extra work.
As one of my contractors once told me: “A good contractor won’t turn down a
good, paying customer.” The client may have to wait for the job to be
scheduled but most of my clients feel that good contractors are worth
waiting for.
Myth 2: The HRN business requires costly advertising.
This is a word of mouth type of business and a lot of job requests are
generated through networking in your community, PR and direct mail.
It’s not expensive to promote the HRN business. In fact, many HRN owners
generate their first jobs before they even launch a promotional campaign.
Myth 3: You need to live in a heavily populated area to run a successful HRN
business.
Actually, this is a very local business. Most contractors won’t travel far
for work therefore an HRN needs to operate locally to start. Once you’ve
established a network in your immediate area, you can expand into new
markets and create new networks of contractors to handle the business.
Myth 4: A local HRN business won’t be able to compete with established,
national contractor referral businesses.
As CBS Marketwatch recently reported: “There's probably no project that
homeowners won't first research online, but when it comes to inviting
contractors to their remodeling project, they're less willing to depend on
electronic means.” In fact, online referral services like Improvenet and
ServiceMagic haven’t posed any competition to the hundreds of HRN’s
operating nationally.
Myth 5: You need contracting experience to run an HRN.
The HRN owner is responsible for marketing and promotion and the contractors
represented in the network are responsible for the technical aspects of the
job therefore no contracting experience is required.
Myth 6: The contracting business is male dominated and most contractors
won’t take a woman seriously. Just the opposite – many of my contractors
tell me that they enjoy talking to a woman after working with men all day.
Besides, if you generate business for them – male or female – you’ll
ultimately earn their respect.
Myth 7: The HRN owner is liable in case of a mishap on a job. The contractor
is ultimately responsible for his own work and there are numerous safeguards
in place to protect the HRN owner including a signed liability clause,
operating procedures and insurance provisions.
Myth 8: Running an HRN business means that my phone will be ringing in the
middle of the night with emergency calls. An HRN deals with home improvement
“projects” not “emergencies.” Of course it’s your prerogative if you’d like
to set up your business to provide emergency referrals.
Myth 9: The HRN owner goes onsite to check out each job before referring it
to a contractor in their network.
The HRN owner never goes to a customer’s home to check out a job. In fact, I
handle more than 90% of my business by telephone.
Myth 10: If I launch an HRN, I have to use the name “Home Remedies.”
Actually, the name Home Remedies is trademarked and each HRN operates under
its own name.
Debra Cohen is owner and founder of the Homeowner Referral Network
(HRN) business – a home based contractor referral service business – and
author of The Complete Guide to Owning and Operating a Successful Homeowner
Referral Network. Read Valerie’s review of HRN or listen to her interview
with Deb at http://www.ChangingCourse.com/hrn.htm
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5. MEET A FELLOW DREAMER
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Now and then I’ll be featuring a career consulting client of mine who needs
your help. Harriet, an account exec for a printing company in Holland, has a
dream. She wants to start a conference center and animal sanctuary in South
Africa. But she doesn’t want to do it alone.
It may also help you to know that this talented and creative woman speaks
five languages and is an animal lover (she owns two horses, two cats, and a
dog).
Some people I work with want to work alone. Others like the idea of having a
business partner. Still others, like Harriet, feed off the energy of a small
group working toward a common cause.
Harriet’s job from heaven is to live on a winery (known as a wine farm in
South Africa) with her animals. On this winery Harriet’s imaging a small
animal sanctuary and conference center where people are offered the
opportunity to escape their hectic lives. They would do this she says, “by
observing animals in the sanctuary and learning from their behavior, going
on guided horse rides, and doing volunteer work in the local community.”
For Harriet, the animal part is about healing the power of animals.
The volunteer part is about contributing to a community and a country that
could use some extra help. There’s other volunteer retreat models around
that Harriet might build on, for example
GlobalVolunteers.com organizes one-to-three week volunteer opportunities
in 19 countries on six continents.
Harriet would love to hear from people around the world who are either
interested in possibly working toward this common vision together or who
simply have some additional ideas to help her get started. If you’d like to
support a fellow dreamer you can write to Harriet by
clicking here
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